1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to operable wall systems used to partition larger rooms into smaller rooms and particularly to a track and trolley system wherein the trolleys can be programmed to automatically switch panels to form a desired room layout.
2. Description of the Related Art
Operable wall panel systems, also known as movable wall panel systems, are often used to temporarily subdivide large rooms into smaller rooms such as in convention halls, hotels, and the like. These systems typically include an overhead track and trolley suspension system whereby wall panels are moved along the track from a storage area to a wall forming position in the space being subdivided. The track may include a number of switches where turns and/or intersections are provided for moving the wall panels.
One difficulty in subdividing an area arises when several wall panels must be moved from a storage area through multiple intersecting track segments to a specific location to form a desired room arrangement. In many instances, each individual panel has a pre-designated position in the final room layout. This is particularly important where the subdivided room arrangement has rooms where the walls are of different colors or differing surface textures which may require some of the panels to have differing features on opposite sides. In these situations, improper placement of the panels could result in mismatches in the final room layout. Previously, the process of subdividing a large space was quite time-consuming requiring that panel placement be closely monitored to achieve the desired result.
In order to facilitate the process of directing panels to a pre-determined position, guide plates have been mounted on the track intersections and used to cooperate with diverter elements mounted on the panel trolleys. In operation, the guide plates on the track intersection engage the diverter elements on the wall panel trolleys to direct the wall panel on to the proper track. One such prior design is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/706,041 filed Nov. 3, 2000 and which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
In some designs, trolleys have been equipped with diverter elements that extend above the trolley wheels to engage a diverter plate mounted on the under side of a top plate of the track switch in combination with additional diverter elements mounted to a plate laterally extending from the trolley below the wheels, that engage diverter plates mounted to the underside of the bottom plate of the track switch.
One shortcoming in these prior designs is in the number of trolley and track switch combinations required to subdivide a large area.
In another type of movable wall system, electric switching stations are used to direct or switch wall panels to their appropriate track. The switching station includes a rotatable platter mounted at the intersection of multiple tracks. The platter is electrically operated to rotate between multiple positions connecting different track sections together at each position. One disadvantage of this system is that although it allows numerous track sections to be selectively interconnected to move the wall panels down their proper paths, a person is required to control the movement of the platter. The electric switching systems are also relatively expensive.
What is needed is a programmable trolley and track system that automatically directs individual wall panels to a pre-determined position in a layout without an excessive number of switch and trolley designs.